New staff orientation is a half-day program that provides an overview of the Perelman SOM as well as specific useful information about key functions and resources that are important to Perelman SOM staff. Specifically, the program will help new staff:

• feel welcome
• understand the Perelman School of Medicine's past, mission, and vision for the future
• understand the Perelman School of Medicine's organizational and reporting structure
• learn relevant functional departments contacts and numbers
• identify resources that are available to support you as a Perelman School of Medicine employee

It is expected that all new employees and transfers to the Perelman School of Medicine will participate in the orientation as soon after their start date as possible. Orientation sessions are generally scheduled monthly, but may vary with the volume of new hires. Invitations are sent directly to all new staff and transfers at their home address. There are three ways to register:

• Call our office at 215-573-0682
• Email to oe@mail.med.upenn.edu
• Register on Knowledge Link (Course title: New Staff Orientation SOM)

Democracy, Governance and Curbing Corruption in Sub-Saharan Africa

Location: Cheyney University of Pennsylvania

An international conference organized by the Master of Public Administration Program, in collaboration with The African & Caribbean Business Council.

While other regions of the world are making strides in improving the living standards of their citizens, Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is still trapped in poverty with more than 40% of its 600 million people living below the internationally recognised absolute poverty level of US$ 1 per day. Several reports highlight corruption as one of the institutional and systemic problems responsible for keeping million of Africans under absolute poverty. In fact, the 2008 Transparency International report demonstrates a direct link between corruption and failure of societal institutions to effectively achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in SSA. It is a serious concern that the goals of halving poverty in SSA by the year 2015 from the level of 1990 will not be met.

For additional information including call for papers, registration and lodging, please visit the conference website at: http://www.cheyney.edu/international-anticorruption/index.cfm

Speaker: Jay Kolls, M.D. Affiliation: University of Pittsburgh Department of Pediatrics

Reconciling Compassion with Practice
in Global Health

Fifth Annual Pediatric Global Health Symposium

Sponsored by The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Department of Global Health

Join us on September 21-22 at The Union League of Philadelphia for the Pediatric Global Health Symposium. Session speakers include nationally renowned global
health experts who will provide attendees with a unique perspective on the role of compassion in global health. Join us on the second day of the Symposium to
learn about opportunities to get involved in global health intiatives.

Learn more about the event »

Call for Posters

Location: BRB Auditorium

Advisor: Xianxin Hua

Presentations by:

Tao Gao, PhD (Stanger Lab)

Alfredo Penzo, PhD (Stanger Lab)

Advisor: Dr. Erika Holzbaur

Location: CRB, Austrian Auditorium

"Optogenetic technologies for perturbing cellular physiology"

Marie E. Burns, Ph.D.
Professor Department of Ophthalmology & Vision Science University of California, Davis

Physiology Conference Room B400 Richards Building

Title:  Feedback required: Stability and reproducibility of single photon responses of retinal rods

4:00PM - 5:00PM

September 18, 2012

Research seminars will resume in the fall

Len A. Pennacchio, PhD
Doe Joint Genome Institute

"Beyond Exomes: Noncoding In Vivo Function and Human Disease"

We are all different. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) classifies different ways that people relate to one another and provides powerful insights into our own communication styles and the communication styles of others. Understanding your style and how it compares to someone else's can lead to better communication, more productivity, increased employee satisfaction and ultimately better results.

Participants must complete the MBTI® in advance to participate in this course.

Location: BRB Auditorium

Advisor: Dr. Una O'Doherty

Location: Class of '62, JMB

ADvisor: Dr. Gregory Bashaw

• Building effective relationships with employees
• Setting performance expectations
• Providing feedback and taking corrective action
• Coaching and counseling
• Conducting effective performance appraisals
• Dealing with an employee who is not meeting expectations

 (Seminar Co-Hosted by ITMAT)  *SPECIAL DATE, TIME, & LOCATION

The Institute for Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism; the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism; and the Diabetes Research Center

Combined Fall 2012 Seminar Series presents:

Daniel J. Drucker, M.D.

Mount Sinai Hospital

September 14, 2012

1:00 PM

Translational Research Center (TRC) Auditorium

The Institute for Diabetes, Obesity, and Metabolism; the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism; and the Diabetes Research Center Combined Spring 2012 Seminar Series presents:

Casim A. Sarkar, Ph.D.

University of Pennsylvania

September 18, 2012

4:00 PM

Translational Research Center - 12-146

Attendees: CDA, Practice Manager/Coordinator of each location, Clinical RN Manager

Call in #: 800-314-2582

"Novel mechanisms regulating neurogenesis in the developing nervous system"

Ken Dill Laufer Center for Physical and Quantitative Biology Stony Brook University  Angel García Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute  Bertrand Garcia-Moreno The Johns Hopkins University  Thomas Record University of Wisconsin, Madison

Speaker 1: Elizabeth Grice

Speaker 2: Rick Bushman

Speaker 3: Hongzhe Li

Host: Fan Li

Professor

Department of Microbiology and Immunology

Harvard Medical School

“Treg control of non-immunological processes”

Austrian Auditorium

Professor of Immunology and Pathogenesis

University of California, Berkeley 

“Role Of Natural Killer Cell Receptors In Cancer Surveillance And Inflammatory Disease”

Austrian Auditorium

The Center for Mental Health Policy and Services Research
The Neuroscience of Behavior Initiative and
The Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics

Present

Marc S. Atkins, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago

New Models for Children’s Mental Health Services in Urban Communities: Drilling Deeper in Urban Schools

Monday, October 1st, 2012
Time: 1:30pm-3:00pm
Location: Steinberg-Dietrich Hall | Room 215 | 3620 Locust Walk

Dr. Atkins is Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology at the University of Illinois at Chicago where he holds appointments in the Department of Psychiatry and the Institute for Juvenile Research.  He is a leading researcher in the development of effective mental health services for children and families living in low-income communities.  He will present a mental health service model that identifies and leverages indigenous resources within schools and communities to change the social context of schooling for youth in urban poverty, and promote opportunities for positive mental health and improved academic outcomes for children.

RSVP: mdowney@upenn.edu

Children's Hospital of Pennsylvania

"Role of Rb pathway in the control of hematopoietic functions"

Austrian Auditorium

Harvard medical School

O-glycosylation of HIV, SIV, Influenza and other enveloped viruses. A new unifying principal of virology? Or a tortuous trail of deception?

Austrian Auditorium

Harvard Medical School

Title TBA

Austrian Auditorium

Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Studying virus/host interactions through the exploitation of miRNAs

Austrian Auditorium

Lana E. Kandalaft, PharmD, PhD  MD, PhD  

THESIS TITLE:“Combinatorial Immunotherapy Approaches in Patients with Recurrent Ovarian Cancer”                                                         

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

7:00-8:30am 

8030 Maloney, HUP 

For more information:

http://www.itmat.upenn.edu/ctsa/mtr

mtrpor@mail.med.upenn.edu

Wei Pan, Ph.D.
Professor, Division of Biostatistics
School of Public Health, University of Minnesota

Title: A network-based penalized regression method with application to genomic data

Abstract: Penalized regression approaches are attractive in dealing with high-dimensional data such as arising in high-throughput genomic studies. New methods have been introduced to utilize the network structure of predictors, e.g. gene networks, to improve parameter estimation and variable selection (Li and Li 2008, 2010; Pan 2009; Pan {it et al.} 2010). All the existing network-based penalized methods are based on an assumption that parameters, e.g. regression coefficients, of neighboring nodes in a network are close in magnitude, which however may not hold. In this paper we propose a novel penalized regression method based on a weaker prior assumption that the parameters of neighboring nodes in a network are likely to be zero (or non-zero) at the same time, regardless of their specific magnitudes. We propose a novel non-convex penalty function to incorporate this prior, and an algorithm based on difference convex programming. We use simulated data and a gene expression dataset to demonstrate the advantages of the proposed method over some existing methods. This is based on joint work with Sunny Kim and Xiaotong Shen.

Assistant Professor

Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

 Presenters:

Kasia Urbanska and Rachel Lynn

 "From basic T cell biology to innovative cancer immunotherapy and back"

Reunion Hall, JMB

Assistant Professor

Pediatrics

"Two Stories in Understanding the Physiology of Inflammation:  "TLR9/IFNg Induced Marrow Injury" and "A Novel Role for Syk in Regulating TNFa Secretion"

Reunion Hall, JMB

Professor

The Wistar Institute

"Shaping the B cell response to influenza virus in the context of bacterial infection"

Reunion Hall, JMB

Associate Professor

Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Reunion Hall, JMB

Christopher L. Berger, Ph.D.

Dept. of Molecular Physiology & Biophysics

University of Vermont College of Medicine

"Dynamic Behavior of Tau on the Microtubule Surface"

Monday Sept. 17, 2012 at 2pm

Austrian Auditorium, CRB

For additional information call (215) 573-9758.

S. Lawrence Zipursky, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Biological Chemistry

Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA

http://www.biolchem.ucla.edu/labs/zipursky/l3.html

Penn Medicine Neuroscience of Behavior Initiative

Invites:

Bryan Traynor, MD, PhD of Johns Hopkins University 

Presents: " Update on the genetics of ALS"

September 19th at 2:45pm

Barchi Library

"Novel mechanisms regulating neurogenesis in the developing nervous system"

 Speaker:  Jennifer Cohn, MD

Time:  Thursday September 6th, 2012 at Noon

Topic:   Breaking the Back of the HIV Pandemic:  Tools, Strategies and Policies from the Medecins Sans Frontieres Experience

and Pathology

 University of Minnesota

Center for Immunology

“CD8 T Cell Protective Immunity—

The Role of Long-Lived Effectors”

Reunion Hall, JMB

Research Associate

Institute for Immunology

"Alternatively activated macrophages in musocal immunity and inflammation"

132 Hill Pavilion

Overview

The BTG Seminar Series draws upon the expertise of participating community partners and academic health centers to address topics related to population health and care coordination. The sessions are designed to augment professional curricula in various content areas and to offer concrete strategies for addressing issues affecting vulnerable populations.

Eight seminars are held in the evening during the winter and spring months with dinner served beforehand. Preregistration is required. Students who wish to become BTG Clinical Scholars are required to attend six seminars. Eligible students may attend seminars at any time during their academic program, including their first year.

Pre-registration is required. 

Time: Dinner 5:30 p.m.
Presentation: 5:45 to 8 p.m.

2012-2013 Schedule

Professor of Mucosal Infection and Immunity
Imperial College, London  

"Optimizing vaginal protection for HIV infection"

Class of '62, JMB

Featuring Paul Rozin, PhD. Dr. Rozin has been teaching introductory psychology for about 30 years, has chaired the psychology department at the University of Pennsylvania, directed the university-wide undergraduate honors program, and has been involved in developing policies and teaching materials to guarantee a minimal competence in quantitative skills and critical thinking in University of Pennsylvania undergraduates.

To RSVP: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHFncy16Mm5IUEh6VGh1X3diVzRUV3c6MQ

Reach out to Nursing Education in Haiti

and

Come to the Fall 2012 kickoff meeting of
the SoN Haiti Task Force

 Friday, September  28 @ 12pm, Room 435, Fagin Hall

Agenda:

Jodi Mindell, PhD
"Behavioral Treatment of Infant and Toddler Sleep Disturbances"

Speaker 1: Andy Minn

Speaker 2: Lyle Ungar

Speaker 3: Sara Cherry

Student host: Ellen Tsai

Speaker 1: Brian Gregory

Speaker 2: Li-San Wang

Speaker 3: Ramana Davuluri

Student host: Nick Lahens

Genetics Research Talks

Chris Weber-Fisher Lab
"Complex regulation of RUNX2 during osteogenesis"

Jae Yoo-Cooke Lab
"Direct linkage of non-coding transcription to the activity of a long-range enhancer"

Genetics Research Talks

Becky Billmore-Johnson Lab
"Resolution by unassisted Top3 points to template switch recombination intermediates during DNA replication"

Brittany Gregory-Cheung Lab
"Natural variation in the histone demethylase, KDM4C, influences gene expression and cell growth"

10am-2pm in the Translational Research Building Commons Lobby

Cara Lynn Mack, M.D. Associate Professor of Pediatrics University of Colorado Denver and Children's Hospital Colorado  "What Causes Biliary Atresia?  Evidence for Dysregulated Immunity in the Pathogenesis of Disease" 

Dr. Garbine Riley is a dermatologist from Guatemala coming to give the Grand Rounds lecture on Oct 4. She is an expert in Leprosy and will be speaking on the topic. Anyone from Global Health/med school is invited to hear her lecture from 11AM-noon in TRC auditorium (attached to PCAM). She also has time in the afternoon to meet with anyone who may be interested in leprosy or global health in Guatemala.

Speaker: Ian Frank MD

Time: Thursday September 20th, 2012 at Noon

Topic: An Update from the XIX International AIDS Conference and 52nd ICAAC

 Speaker:  Kenneth Hugh Mayer, MD

Time: Thursday October 4th, 2012 at Noon

Topic:  Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis

The Clinical Neurosciences Training Program (CNST) would like to invite you to a Happy Hour Event at the City Tap House.

Location:     The Radian Balcony - 3925 Walnut Street

Date:          Thursday, September 27th

Time:        6:00pm - 8:00pm

Will include food, select red & white wine, beer (60 taps), and non-alcoholic beverages

We will be seated outside around fire pits reserved for our group.  If it should rain, we will be moved indoors.

If you are interested in attending, please respond to Linda at lindara@upenn.edu  by Monday, September 24, 2012.

September 7, 2012

Steven J. Siegel, M.D., Ph.D. & Roy Hamilton, M.D.
Psychiatry & Neurology
Orientation & Introduction

September 14, 2012

Jessica Morgan
Ophthalmology
“High Resolution Imaging of Retinal Degeneration”

September 21, 2012

Steven J. Siegel, M.D., Ph.D.
Psychiatry
“Team-oriented Translational Studies In Schizophrenia at Penn: The Conte Center to Study Emotional Processing From Patients to Patch”

September 21, 2012

Steven J. Siegel, M.D., Ph.D.
Psychiatry
“Team-oriented Translational Studies In Schizophrenia at Penn: The Conte Center to Study Emotional Processing From Patients to Patch”

September 7, 2012

Steven J. Siegel, M.D., Ph.D. and Roy Hamilton, M.D.
Psychiatry & Neurology                    
Orientation & Introduction

September 14, 2012

Jessica Morgan
Ophthalmology
“High Resolution Imaging of Retinal Degeneration”

"Statistical Methods for Evaluating Diagnostic Biomarkers in the Presence of Measurement Error"

Matthew T. White
PhD Candidate
Division of Biostatistics
Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology

Dissertation Advisor: Sharon X. Xie, PhD
Committee Chair: Kathleen J. Propert, ScD
Committee Members: Justine Shults, PhD, Daniel Weintraub, MD

Abstract: In recent years, biomarkers have grown in importance in many clinical and epidemiological settings. Many biomarkers are obtained with measurement error due to imperfect lab conditions or temporal variability within subjects, and it is therefore critical to develop analytical methods to quantify and adjust for measurement error in the evaluation of diagnostic markers.

We first develop a parametric bias-correction approach to adjust estimates of sensitivity, specificity, and other diagnostic measures for measurement error by using an internal reliability sample. We derive asymptotic expressions for the bias in naive estimators. We prove that the bias-corrected estimators are consistent and asymptotically normally distributed and derive the asymptotic variance of the estimators using the delta method. We evaluate our method through extensive simulations and illustrate our method using a biomarker study in Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Next, we develop optimal design strategies for studying the effectiveness of an error-prone biomarker in differentiating diseased from non-diseased individuals and focus on the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) as the primary measure of effectiveness. Using an internal reliability sample within the diseased and non-diseased groups, we develop optimal study design strategies that 1) minimize the variance of the estimated AUC subject to constraints on the total number of observations or total cost of the study or 2) achieve a pre-specified power. We develop optimal allocations of the number of subjects in each group, the size of the reliability sample in each group, and the number of replicate observations per subject in the reliability sample in each group under a variety of commonly seen study conditions.

Finally, we propose a parametric approach to compare two or more correlated AUCs when the biomarkers are subject to correlated measurement errors. We show that the proposed estimator is consistent and asymptotically normally distributed and derive its asymptotic variance using the delta method. We compare the performance of our method to naive methods that ignore the correlation in measurement errors through simulations and show that ignoring this correlation can lead to biased estimates of the AUC difference. We return to the AD biomarker study to demonstrate our method.

CDC

“ Screening for HCV in the Baby Boomer Population: Rationale and Strategies for Implementation”.

Stemmler Dunlap Auditorium

This is a CME accredited program. 

Led by visiting Penn medical students.

All are welcome to attend.

Dr. Mike Reid will be visiting Thamaga on October 4rth 

This month's outreach lecture: Respiratory distress and CHF

The outreach lecture this month is on 'Respiratory distress and CHF.' 

As ever if you have any HIV/internal medicine clinical questions, please free to contact Dr Mike Reid (+267 724 78 777) or Dr Miriam Haverkamp (+269 765 16 520).   

Title: Scalable Statistical Estimation Methods for Large, Time-Varying Networks

David Hunter, Ph.D.
Professor and Head
Department of Statistics
Penn State University

Assistant Professor of Pathobiology
School of Veterinary Medicine

"Regulation of Cell Death and Inflammation During Bacterial Infection"

132 Hill Pavilion

The newly established Basser Research Center for BRCA 1 and 2 hosts monthly research conferences, which include presentations by two researchers and discussion over lunch.  Lunch will be provided.

       Andrea Facciabene, PhD, on Development of vaccine targeting the tumor vasculature for the prevention of BRCA-deficient tumors

       Susan Domchek, MD, on Cancer Risk Evaluation Program: current and future biobank

These conferences are open to all, and no registration is necessary. 

For more information call: (215) 898-8725

This lecture is a part of the Fall 2012 Public Health 519 course "Issues in Global Health."   If you would like to attend as a guest, please contact Dustin Utt (uttd@upenn.edu) to see if there is room available.

Information about the course:  PUBH519 presents an overview of issues in global health from the viewpoint of many different disciplines, with emphasis on economically less developed countries.  Themes include the state of the planet, including populations, resources, and environment; determinants of global health, ethical perspectives, challenges in communicable and non-communicable disease, and intervention strategies.  If you are interested in registering for the entire course, please follow the protocol used in your home school.  This is usually accomplished by checking with the home school program coordinator or advisor.  Medical students should contact Helene Weinberg.

This lecture is a part of the Fall 2012 Public Health 519 course "Issues in Global Health."   If you would like to attend as a guest, please contact Dustin Utt (uttd@upenn.edu) to see if there is room available.

Information about the course:  PUBH519 presents an overview of issues in global health from the viewpoint of many different disciplines, with emphasis on economically less developed countries.  Themes include the state of the planet, including populations, resources, and environment; determinants of global health, ethical perspectives, challenges in communicable and non-communicable disease, and intervention strategies.  If you are interested in registering for the entire course, please follow the protocol used in your home school.  This is usually accomplished by checking with the home school program coordinator or advisor.  Medical students should contact Helene Weinberg.

This lecture is a part of the Fall 2012 Public Health 519 course "Issues in Global Health."   If you would like to attend as a guest, please contact Dustin Utt (uttd@upenn.edu) to see if there is room available.

Information about the course:  PUBH519 presents an overview of issues in global health from the viewpoint of many different disciplines, with emphasis on economically less developed countries.  Themes include the state of the planet, including populations, resources, and environment; determinants of global health, ethical perspectives, challenges in communicable and non-communicable disease, and intervention strategies.  If you are interested in registering for the entire course, please follow the protocol used in your home school.  This is usually accomplished by checking with the home school program coordinator or advisor.  Medical students should contact Helene Weinberg.

This lecture is a part of the Fall 2012 Public Health 519 course "Issues in Global Health."   If you would like to attend as a guest, please contact Dustin Utt (uttd@upenn.edu) to see if there is room available.

Information about the course:  PUBH519 presents an overview of issues in global health from the viewpoint of many different disciplines, with emphasis on economically less developed countries.  Themes include the state of the planet, including populations, resources, and environment; determinants of global health, ethical perspectives, challenges in communicable and non-communicable disease, and intervention strategies.  If you are interested in registering for the entire course, please follow the protocol used in your home school.  This is usually accomplished by checking with the home school program coordinator or advisor.  Medical students should contact Helene Weinberg.

This lecture is a part of the Fall 2012 Public Health 519 course "Issues in Global Health."   If you would like to attend as a guest, please contact Dustin Utt (uttd@upenn.edu) to see if there is room available.

Information about the course:  PUBH519 presents an overview of issues in global health from the viewpoint of many different disciplines, with emphasis on economically less developed countries.  Themes include the state of the planet, including populations, resources, and environment; determinants of global health, ethical perspectives, challenges in communicable and non-communicable disease, and intervention strategies.  If you are interested in registering for the entire course, please follow the protocol used in your home school.  This is usually accomplished by checking with the home school program coordinator or advisor.  Medical students should contact Helene Weinberg.

This lecture is a part of the Fall 2012 Public Health 519 course "Issues in Global Health."   If you would like to attend as a guest, please contact Dustin Utt (uttd@upenn.edu) to see if there is room available.

Information about the course:  PUBH519 presents an overview of issues in global health from the viewpoint of many different disciplines, with emphasis on economically less developed countries.  Themes include the state of the planet, including populations, resources, and environment; determinants of global health, ethical perspectives, challenges in communicable and non-communicable disease, and intervention strategies.  If you are interested in registering for the entire course, please follow the protocol used in your home school.  This is usually accomplished by checking with the home school program coordinator or advisor.  Medical students should contact Helene Weinberg.

This lecture is a part of the Fall 2012 Public Health 519 course "Issues in Global Health."   If you would like to attend as a guest, please contact Dustin Utt (uttd@upenn.edu) to see if there is room available.

Information about the course:  PUBH519 presents an overview of issues in global health from the viewpoint of many different disciplines, with emphasis on economically less developed countries.  Themes include the state of the planet, including populations, resources, and environment; determinants of global health, ethical perspectives, challenges in communicable and non-communicable disease, and intervention strategies.  If you are interested in registering for the entire course, please follow the protocol used in your home school.  This is usually accomplished by checking with the home school program coordinator or advisor.  Medical students should contact Helene Weinberg.

This lecture is a part of the Fall 2012 Public Health 519 course "Issues in Global Health."   If you would like to attend as a guest, please contact Dustin Utt (uttd@upenn.edu) to see if there is room available.

Information about the course:  PUBH519 presents an overview of issues in global health from the viewpoint of many different disciplines, with emphasis on economically less developed countries.  Themes include the state of the planet, including populations, resources, and environment; determinants of global health, ethical perspectives, challenges in communicable and non-communicable disease, and intervention strategies.  If you are interested in registering for the entire course, please follow the protocol used in your home school.  This is usually accomplished by checking with the home school program coordinator or advisor.  Medical students should contact Helene Weinberg.